HќќѠіђџȱ юћјђџ Ѣћђ 2014 Amplify is a public relations and ȱěȱȱ¢ȱȱ American Bankers Association with help from banking professionals. Available to all bankers — both ABA members ȱȱȯȱȱěȱ tools to help rebuild the image of banking. For more information, visit www.amplifybankers.com and are not. Some insist that, because of this knowledge, they do not need any kind of demographic analysis of their communities. “Big data” is the buzzword today. I am not sure exactly where small data becomes big data. I do know that today, ȱ ȱǰȱęȱȱȱĴ¢ȱ¢ǯȱ ȱ data can be found inexpensively. It might be a good idea to verify all that you know about your community. For example, do you know what the poverty level is in your community? Do you know what percentage of students at your local school is on the free or reduced lunch program? Do you really know where all of the money is in your community? Though you know your community, as I knew of my great-great-grandfather’s heroics, it could be a good investment to verify what you know. If you’re right, you will have spent a few bucks to prove it. If you’re wrong, then you will likely save your bank a lot of money by not chasing the wrong prospects. We appear to be entering a period where the economy should be improving at a much faster pace than during the past several years. Now is the time to set your game plan. Now is the time to gather the statistical data — big or small — on which to base that plan. I now know the real story of The Great Locomotive Chase and have discovered that there were two William Ĵȱ ȱȱȱȱ ȱ ǯȱ ¢ȱȬȬ ȱ Ĵȱ ȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȱ - ȱȱȱ ȱ ȱȱ ȱȱ ǰȱȱȱ was the one who walked all night after a full day of march- ȱȱęȱȱ¢ȱȱǯȱ ȱȱ¢ȱ ȱȱ heroes. ȱ ȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱȱȱęȱȱȱ facts, just in case our beliefs are wrong. As I sat down to write this month’s President’s Ponderings, my great-great-grandfather was on my mind. His name was William Pittenger, and family lore had portrayed him as a Civil War hero. I have often heard the story of how he had stolen a Confederate train, creating a turning point in the war. I decided to go to the Internet to see what more I could learn. Sure enough, Sgt. William Ĵǰȱȱ ȱŘŗȱȱȱ ȱȱ Ȃȱ Raiders, stole a Confederate train with the mission of destroying bridges and rail lines between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The mission was not accomplished to the level expected, and it was not a turning point in the war. Of the 22 men, all but six were hung or shot by the Confederates upon ǯȱ ȱǰȱȱ Ĵǰȱ ȱȱȱ prisoners of war until they escaped and made it back to the Union side. ȱ Ĵȱȱȱȱęȱȱȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱȱ ǯȱ Ĵȱ ȱȱȱ ȱȱȱ about this adventure, which Disney made into a movie in the 1950s. I recall watching the movie as a child. It was titled The Great Locomotive Chaseǰȱȱ Ĵȱ ȱ- ed as one of the principal heroes. ȱ ȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱȱ Ĵȱ ȱ born in Ohio and died in California. That perplexed me, since I knew that my great-great-grandfather was born and ȱȱ ǰȱ ǯȱ ǰȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ heroics occurred in April 1862. I reviewed my great-greatgrandfather’s information and saw that he had enlisted in February 1865. So after all of these years of believing that my greatgreat-grandfather had been a “locomotive chase” hero in the Civil War, I found that I was wrong. He did not enlist ȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱ ȱ Ĵȱ had become the hero. ȱ ¢ȱȬȬȱ Ĵȱȱȱȱ- tion during the Civil War. He and his brother were march- ȱȱ¢ȱȱ ȱȱȱĴȱȱȱǯȱ He was not allowed to stop and bury his brother, as the commanders thought it too dangerous. They continued to march several more miles before stopping for camp. ȱ ¢ȱȬȬȱȱ ȱȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȂȱĴǰȱȱȱȱȱǰȱȱ- turned to the camp. Later in life, he took my grandmother to Tennessee to show her where his brother was buried. That made him a family hero, if not a Civil War hero. Often I hear bankers tell me that they know their communities. They know everyone there, who has money and who doesn’t. They know where all of the opportunities are ASSOCIATION UPDATE PRESIDENT’S PONDERINGS 6 -RH 'H+DYHQ 3UHVLGHQW &KLHI ([HFXWLYH 2IÀFHU ,QGLDQD %DQNHUV $VVRFLDWLRQ Amplif America fromb toal to b v $PSOLI\ <RXU (IIRUWV
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